#commissioners…I will work on the sketches when I can give my best work…which will be this weekend hopefully

[doctorsiren]

friends, I am sick and therefore the art stuff I need to get done is not going to get done today but I’d love to do some doodle requests to keep me busy until I can go home

[shibara]

~ https://subscribestar.adult/shibara ~

I’ve thought about it for a long while, and finally decided to go ahead with it!

Tier perks include access to a sketch stash with lots of never published wips, sketches and doodles, HD art collections with more than 8 years of work, upcoming downloads for layered psd and csp files for past and future work, early access when commissions open and free monthly art raffles when goals are met.

Full information on perks, sfw and nsfw policies, commissions, and other details under the cut~

NSFW and SFW While I understand that SubscribeSar Adult is geared mainly towards nsfw art, my sfw pieces will be available to subscribers, too. Posts will be marked as [SFW] or [NSFW] in the title and will also be collected in separate folders in the sketch and HD collections.

The majority of the art I do nowadays is of the anthro variety, but there will be some other types of characters sprinkled in, here and there. They will have a separate folder in the sketch and HD art collections, for ease of filtering. Robots will also have a specific folder, since for a few years it was all I painted, so there's a considerable collection of pieces with them. How does this affect commissions? It will change the way I take payments and organize slots, but not much else. Basically, I’m hoping to finally ditch Paypal, and start taking commissions through Subscribestar directly. I'll be setting up a tier or two with 2 or so slots for fixed-price commissions, which commissioners can later upgrade via tips (for example, a tier called “Painted Commissions” set at 250$ that includes an illustration for a full character with a background. If a subscriber wants to make it a two-character pic, the extra fee can be sent via a single-time tips). I'm still deciding on what the best communication rout will be for this (form, mail, etc), so I won't be opening until mid-to-late May. Why sell commissions this way? Due to recent legislation in my country, using Paypal has become increasingly disadvantageous in the past few years (you have to automatically convert all payments to the local coin at a horrendous exchange rate, same as most other available services for easy money transfer and virtual wallets). Also, because of how virtual wallet services work, I’ve not been able to offer clients any kind of installment plans for ages, which sucks. The way Subscribestar works though, would allow me to receive transfers directly to my bank account, hopping over most of those issues, while at the same time allowing for fractionated payments for those clients who may need them. Also, I fucking hate that Paypal has such a beef against the adult industry. I love working on nsfw pieces for me and for others, and having in the back of my mind the knowledge that Paypal could shut down my account in a heartbeat if they realized I work with adult material, has been a constant source of irritation for more than a decade. I unashamedly love what I do and I intend to continue doing so! In conclusion: My intentions regarding my artwork is to keep things mostly the same. Commissions are still my priority, and will continue to be so, but some fixed monthly support would definitely be super helpful, allowing me to explore new techniques and ideas a tad more freely, while still giving back something to you all for your support. If things go well and when things have settled down a bit, I intend to create a discord server where I can communicate more conveniently and stream the art making process, start using polls where subscribers can vote directly for what themes they’d like me to work with in my non-commissioned art. It’s all extremely exciting, I can’t wait to start~ :D

[jarofloosescrews]

Hi!!! I have seen your TFP art at times and absolutely adore the colors and utter skill you have with drawing the mechs. I am curious, as I've slowly started to step into getting commissioned art from artists, how do your commissions work?

Are they solely physical/traditional? If so, do you have examples between watercolor and the alcohol markers? I can't tell from your commission page which is which from the Bumblebee, Predaking and Wheeljack examples.

Also, with shipping of physical, how large is your canvas, or does that depend on pose/character?

If you have an option for digital solely, is that cheaper than physical or the same price? And generally how long does a physical commission take you to complete - as well as what are your stages you show to the commissioner (as in sketch stage, lined stage, finished)?

Are there any TFP mechs you won't draw? (I am most interested in a Breakdown or Dreadwing one, if I potentially commissioned you).

Thank you and apologies for the many questions, I am a person who prefers clear instructions/explanations before I delve into spending money but your art and my returning TFP love is making me curious about the potential of commissioning art off someone. Again, thank you!

Hey there, I'll try my best to answer eveything:

"Are they solely traditional?" The commissions I'm offering for TFN pickup are, yes. But I do offer digital commissions, also, which you can find here.

I'm aiming to get a better ref sheet up very soon, I'll make a note to make it clear which is watercolor and which is marker and my other media examples. But from that traditional commission page, all are markers except TFA Sentinel. I'm quite happy for people to point to artwork of mine and go 'what's that? I want that style/coloring', since I have so many variations, but lemme link a few more examples of my watercolor work:

A5 head shot of TFP Breakdown | A5 head shot of TFP Arcee | A4+ sized head shot of IDW Prowl | A4+ sized full body of IDW Ironhide | A4 bust profile of TFA Bumblebee

"...how large is your canvas, or does that depend on pose/character?": Depending on how much of the character is wanted, yeah it does depend. I won't draw a full bodied character on an A5 size, it's too small for all good details. Full bodied poses are for A4 sizes and up, but I can draw head shots on all sizes. In regards to shipping, I have shipped A3 size with no problem, flat and reinforced, but sadly the post office likes to cash in on that size, so it can be pricey.

"If you have an option for digital solely, is that cheaper than physical or the same price?": Technically my traditional artwork should be more than my digital, as I have to factor in consumable materials. But a few of my traditional prices are are the same as my digital ones. For me, personally, it all came down to trial and error, I just didn't have any takers when I last put my traditional prices up, sadly. And I'm in a position where some money is better than no money right now. Also, 90% of my commissioners/shop buyers have been/are from the USA, and I'm in the UK. The additional postage cost doesn't help, I guess.

As for how long a traditional piece can take, it really depends. If it's a character I'm very familiar with, I can probably finish within a day or two (rarely a day, though, unless I have the time to spend many hours in a single go). Some pieces take several days, if I have trouble with a pose, and I have to draw it several times to get it right. Depending on posing and how many characters, too.

I show the commissioner the sketch stage, and sometimes it's a really rough sketch just to show composition or pose. If it's a rough sketch, I'll then neaten it up and show again, and if they're happy I'll move to the lineart, show them again, and then move to final colors. I like to give commissions a good chance to ask for edits, but there are some who take advantage and keep asking for changes, so after, say 4 edits, depending if they're big/time consuming, I will charge for further edits.

"Are there any TFP mechs you won't draw?": I don't think there are any characters I won't draw, not in the TF fandom, anyway. I would definitely love to give Dreadwing a go 0.0

I hope that answered your questions! If you would like to know anything else please do ask, or for any other artwork examples, since my examples page is still in the making and the current one is a bit limited.

[lyradaisical]

Commission Info

***Please be sure to click through to the original post for up-to-date terms and/or prices***

Information copied from my official commission page:

Will do: Fanart and original characters Will not do: Gore, NSFW, mecha, furries, fetishes, complex backgrounds

Classic vs. No-Fuss, No-Muss Commissions

Classic commissions are my full-service commissions. In this type of commission, I will correspond with you as I work on your commission. I will check in with you after the preliminary sketch. Once I have the okay, I will move on to line art. I request that you take the time to examine the line art. Minor revisions are allowed at this stage. Major revisions (eg. changing the pose), and frequent revisions will incur extra charges. Once I begin coloring, requests for changes in the line art will incur a fee. I will do a final check-in after coloring for any revisions in color.

No-Fuss, No-Muss commissions are the "I'll leave it up to you" commissions. This is my commission option for people who have no interest in the back and forth correspondence and somehow have enough confidence in me not to do them dirty. No check-ins. I receive the commission and work with whatever information is provided to me, and then I'll send it to you when completed. Proceed at your own caution.

Regardless of which commission style is chosen, visual references are required, especially for original characters. Please be ready to give details on what you would like. I don't want to have to wrestle information out of you. If you have a hard time putting your ideas into words, feel free to search for some pictures (clothes, poses, etc.) and send them to me.

Example 1 (No detail): I would like Lumine from Genshin Impact. The rest is up to you.

Example 2 (Some detail): I would like Lumine from Genshin Impact in a sailor uniform using her color scheme, doing the Sailor Moon pose.

Example 3 (More detail): I would like Lumine from Genshin Impact in a sailor uniform. Make her skirt and bow light blue and have the center of the bow the same as the flower she wears in her hair. Don't give her a tiara. Keep her thigh-high legwear. She will be in the Sailor Moon pose (One hand on the waist, the other doing a peace sign at her head. Not the "I'll punish you pose").

Complex designs are subject to extra charges. Very simple backgrounds, such as solid colors, gradients, and basic patterns (stripes, polka dots, etc.), are free. Any other background will be up for discussion.

Terms

Prices are for non-commercial use only. Failure to comply may lead to legal consequences.

I reserve the right to use the final artwork for promotional purposes. This may include: 1. Displaying the watermarked artwork on my website and social media accounts, 2. Uploading the art process video onto my YouTube channel

I reserve the right to deny any commission.

Payment

Payment is due prior to the start of the commission. An invoice will be sent via Stripe when I am ready to work on your piece. Any extra charges incurred will be invoiced and must be paid before I continue.

Processing Time

I strive to be timely and efficient with all my commissions. I will let you know once I start on your commission. Due to the nature of classic commissions, those will typically take longer to complete. No-fuss, no-muss commissions, on the other hand, will be quicker as it cuts out most correspondence.

Receipt of Commission

Finished products will be sent digitally through email in .jpg or .png format.

Refund Policy

No refunds will be given unless I am for some reason unable to finish your commission. Because of this, I do ask that you browse through my art and familiarize yourself with my art style. I'll do my best to make sure you are satisfied with your commission, but if you are unsatisfied with something out of my scope of practice, then there is nothing I can do there. For No-Fuss, No-Muss commissioners, please take some extra time to think if you really want to go YOLO and go this route.

Contact

You can contact me at lyracommissions@gmail.com or via DM on my other socials (preferably Tumblr, Instagram, or Twitter). After our initial correspondence, I will let you know if I am able to take your commissions.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

[my-writings-and-musings]

TFA Bulkhead/Bumblebee

Bulkhead, hoping to paint Bumblebee, finds a number of unexpected hurdles in the form of a willing but very fidgety model.

Got a lovely commission that the commissioner was okay with me sharing, so here it is! I had so much fun writing this, and remember, I'm always open if you'd like a fic for yourself.

Working up courage wasn't something one had to do often when they were as big and strong as Bulkhead, but he'd needed every bit he could spare to approach Bumblebee with what he'd feared was a ridiculous request. The fact he could expect his friend to say yes had brought him little comfort, because being rejected just scared him too much. He didn't want to admit how long it had taken him to prepare…

But finally, the day had come, and he approached the little bot as one might an armed explosive.

"Uh… Bumblebee?" he spoke softly, tapping his big servos together to try and call himself down. Bumblebee was relaxing and watching something on TV, and Bulkhead was so nervous he couldn't even tell what. Primus, he was just grateful they were alone, or else this would have been impossible! Bumblebee thankfully noticed him right away, lifting his helm to look at his friend with a smile.

"What's up, Bulk?" he said in greeting, half turning back to the television before doing an actual double take back to the big bot. Concern crossed his features, and he raised a curious brow ridge before he spoke again. "You feeling okay?"

Bulkhead realized just then that his nervousness was probably showing through like a beacon, and he gulped in embarrassment, wanting nothing more than to disappear on the spot. Just his luck that things would already be going poorly… Steeling himself, he took a deep vent and put on the biggest smile he could manage. "Yeah, f-fine!" he gasped out, trying not to tremble. Wishing he'd written down what he wanted to say, he just managed to put some words together and speak, hoping he didn't look as ridiculous as he felt. "I just wanted… wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Bumblebee asked, expression not changing once. Near to collapsing, Bulkhead soldiered on, wondering with every word if he'd made a huge mistake.

"Well you… you know I've been painting a lot lately, and I was wondering…" he gulped again, closing in on the final thing he'd come to ask and hoping he wasn't making a huge mistake in the process. If this worked, it might just be the happiest day of his life…

"I'm kind of tired of painting trees and flowers… could I paint… you?" he asked, not even waiting for a reply before he clarified extensively. "Paint a picture of you, I mean! Like… would you want to model for a painting? That's… what I meant…"

"Oh, model?" Bumblebee repeated, optics lighting up like a supernova as he repeated the word. Bulkhead felt relief like nothing he'd ever experienced wash over him as the question got exactly the answer he hadn't dared to hope for, enough so that he struggled to stay standing as he sighed. Bumblebee hopped upright and stretched, lean little frame already eager to get moving as he stepped beside his much larger friend. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Yeah, sure!" Bulkhead said with enthusiasm, trying his hardest not to cry a few happy tears at the turn of events. Moving as fast as he could, he followed Bee to his room, where all of his supplies were waiting for them in the unlikely event this worked out. The big bot had done everything in his power to get all the paint and brushes he would need if Bee said yes, so hopefully he did indeed have enough, or at least what he'd require to get started. He'd gotten so many shades of yellow…

When they arrived to his room, he briefly scolded himself for not fixing it up better, not that Bumblebee ever bothered to clean his own room, but he wanted to be a good host.

Pointing to the smushed couch he sometimes liked to relax on, which was also in a good spot for lighting, he tried to ensure he was calm despite his still fluttering nerves. "You can, uh, pose however you like. How about there?" 

"Sure, sounds fun!" Bumblebee replied, quite enthusiastic as he hopped on over. Not minding that the furniture was beyond lumpy, he began finding a comfortable way for his frame to lay, moving his tiny self about as Bulkhead got everything ready. Trying not to blush at how happy he was, the big bot grabbed a spare canvas and his favorite cans of paint, along with a few brushes in his size. Someday he'd have to properly thank Sari for introducing him to art, and being kind enough to provide tools in his size as well. When his easel was in place, he looked up to see Numb laying himself over the couch and grinning in his usual goofy way. "Paint me like one of your French bots, Bulkhead…"

Even if he hadn't been so distracted by what he was feeling, the big bot would have had no ability to make sense of what he'd just heard. All he could manage was a one word reply of total bafflement. "...What?"

"It's a… a human quote. I don't get it either." Bumblebee mumbled in reply, likely referencing some movie he and Sari had watched together at some point. Not wanting his friend to feel awkward, Bulkhead happily helped the conversation continue, smiling as he grabbed a brush.

"Oh, well um… how about we start small? Just sketches and stuff, you know?" he offered, trying to think of the best way to proceed. It was hard to plan much of anything when he was this happy, especially because he didn't want Bee to know how he felt, in more ways than one. He had to keep going as if this was just a casual thing, and not something that really meant the world to him.

"Works for me, just don't forget to get my good side… which is all of me." Bee said proudly, striking a pose and grinning as he did so. It was a perfectly in character position, so Bulkhead got to work right away, carefully articulating his large digits to control the brush. While small mistakes were just part of the process for painting, he didn't want to make one here. This piece was going to be perfect, so every stroke had to be the same, and thus his digits had an almost vice-like grip. It didn't escape his attention how few bots got to pursue their greatest wish like he was doing now. Keeping his smile to himself, he cast his optics to Bumblebee and back to the canvas, wanting to have the perfect grasp of scale before he began. Having a friend with such particular proportions wasn't going to make this any easier.

Sticking with the core of his muse, he made a few careful strokes to get the basic gist of his friend's pose, hoping to capture both his sense of excitability and his current relaxed mood. It would be hard, but he was more than up for the challenge. This would be worth every last second of work...

"Actually, hang on, my arm looks better like this."

Bumblebee surprised him with the words and the sudden movement he made to match, his arm swinging about to rest almost opposite to its original pose. As he hadn't yet started drawing that particular spot, Bulkhead let it go, having expected a little bit of restlessness. It was also only fair that Bee liked the final result and was comfortable with the process. Getting back to work, the big bot wondered if his friend's face might be a good place to start. His horns certainly added an additional detail for him to take into consideration… Perhaps he'd ask if Bee wanted his face to be more in profile or at an angle. All he wanted was to capture the essence of the bot he was so close to.

Bumblebee coughed, optics looking about bashfully as he blushed and shifted on the couch to move his other arm. It wasn't a big move, but the small bit clearly realized it was inconvenient, and looked guilty for the move. "Need to change this too, it's not working. This look better?"

"Oh uh… yeah!" Bulkhead replied quickly, uncertain how he should respond beyond acceptance as the last thing he wanted was for this to be uncomfortable for either of them. Some small changes would need to be made to what was already on the canvas, but that was hardly a bother. Getting more paint on his brush, he tried to work a little faster as he got the bottom layer established. Not that he didn't trust Bee to keep his word, but the little bot often fidgeted without even meaning to. Sticking out his glossa in concentration, Bulkhead worked fast, using up a fair amount of paint as he got what he presumed to be the core of the piece. Next would come the much tricker details…

Or at least they would have, if he hadn't glanced up to see Bumblebee in a completely different pose and half asleep...

"Bumblebee?" he said on reflex, coughing to try and gain his friend's attention. Startling awake, the little bot looked around in surprise, seeming to have forgotten exactly where he was and what was going on. When recognition dawned on his features, embarrassment wasn't far behind. A light blush lit up his cheeks as he shrunk down on the couch.

"Scrap, sorry, wasn't thinking." he apologized, trying to remember how he had originally been posed and failing to do so. Bulkhead felt a bit of frustration stirring, but he kept it well under wraps. Just because this wasn't going according to plan, didn't mean he was going to give up.

"That's okay! Just… need a new canvas." he said, keeping his smile even if he was a little more flustered. With a little bit of white paint he could salvage the canvas and use it later for something else, plus it wasn't like Sari didn't provide him with plenty of supplies. Getting set up all over again, he looked back to Bumblebee, who was once again settled in what appeared to be his position of choice. Hoping to begin in earnest, he was careful as could be when he broached the question on his mind. "Is that the pose you want?"

"Definitely!" Bumblebee said enthusiastically, giving him hope that he'd be able to paint for real this time. Not wasting even a moment, he painted as fast as he could, glancing back and forth between the painting and his subject to make the process as smooth as possible. It was an effective strategy, as it allowed him to get the outline twice as fast. This time he wanted to fully capture his friend in the picture as he'd been trying from the start. Some part of him just knew it would be worth it, and that they'd both be thankful he put in all this effort.

Or, at least, he thought he knew...

"Actually, sorry about this, but…" Bumblebee was bashful but not especially hesitant as he moved to lay on his side, stretching as he moved into an entirely different position. The poor artist felt his spark drop at the loss of progress all over again, even as his friend tried to cheer them both up by looking as chipper as possible. "That was so much more uncomfortable than I was expecting. Go on!"

Bulkhead didn't say a word as he grabbed another canvas, and did his very best not to look as discouraged as he felt. It didn't seem like this was going to stop any time soon, as much as he wished it would, and that didn't bode well for his wish to get this done. Perhaps he'd been far too hopeful…

Still, he did everything in his power to stay positive and make the painting he'd dreamed of become a reality.

Painting faster than he ever had in his entire life, the big bot ignored the imperfections that came from moving so rapidly, setting his jaw tight as little flecks of paint spattered across the canvas. At this point, such little things hardly seemed to mind. What really mattered was getting this done. A familiar form began to take recognizable shape on the canvas, and the artist started to plan ahead for his next move from then on. Shading would come after these little details, which he'd be able to put together thanks to having a lot of his friend's appearance memorized. Hope blossomed in his spark as he finally saw Bumblebee in the picture he was painting.

Getting so close to what he wanted made seeing a repeat of what had happened before hurt more than it should have.

Catching himself, Bumblebee blushed and shrunk down on the spot, smiling bashfully in apology for his unintentional movement. It really wasn't something he was doing on purpose; he wanted to see his friend happy! Sitting still just didn't work for him. Seeing Bulkhead look hurt, however, made him feel especially bad for the mistake.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Bulkhead said with a sigh, putting yet another canvas to the side and looking quite deflated as he did so. There wasn't anything he could think to do that might change this, and he was ready to just throw in the towel. Perhaps this was just the one thing he wasn't meant to paint.

"Aw come on, why not?" Bumblebee pressed, aware of the answer but hoping there was something he could do to fix it. Staying still just wasn't in his programming, but perhaps… he could get some tape? That wasn't realistic, but he wanted to try something to make up for this. Bulkhead only sighed again.

"You won't stay still?" he said simply, frustrated but not antagonistic in his summation. It was something neither of them could change, and that left both more than a little helpless.

"I…" Bumblebee stuttered off, tapping his digits together as he saw his friend get even more sad. Unable to help getting a little defensive, he got up from the couch, throwing up his arms as the big bot cleaned up some of the mess. "Come on, Bulk! You know me! Staying still isn't my thing, and I can't force that!"

"Well yeah, but… couldn't you just stay mostly still?" Bulkhead asked, still not ready to just give up all at once. Even if he had no idea how to fix things or make it work, he wanted this painting too much to just give up, no matter how many canvases it took. All he needed was a little bit more time than he had been getting. His determination must have shown, because Bumblebee furrowed his brow ridges in consideration.

"I… I can try! I…" he faded off as the pressure weighed on him, and thankfully his friend caught that quickly. To be clear; he wanted this a lot, but he could never want anything badly enough to make Bumblebee uncomfortable. Perhaps it was best they rested a bit, to restore their patience and approach this with clearer heads. He certainly needed a minute to relax from all this frustration...

"How about a break? We've been trying for a while, maybe a bit of down time will help." he proposed, already feeling a little better at the prospect of cooling down. Bumblebee shared the sentiment straight away, visibly relaxing on the spot and letting out a tiny sigh of his own. 

"Great idea Bulk! Let me just grab something…" he said happily, darting off and leaving the big bot alone with his supplies. Deciding to clean a bit to ease his mind, Bulkhead sorted the discarded canvases, hoping that he could paint over the unusable pictures with some white and reuse them. Seeing how much and how little progress he'd made at the same time made him wonder how he might improve on their next attempt. Nothing was coming to mind just yet, but that didn't mean he had lost hope. There had to be something on this planet that would motivate Bee to stay still, and by Primus he would find it!

As he was wiping up some paint that had managed to drip onto the floor, Bumblebee quite literally skidded back into the room, coming to a dead stop after running at full tilt. 

"I'm back! Just wanted to grab my game!" the little bot declared happily, waving the device about as he went to sit back on the smushed couch. The game had been a gift from Sari as well; some kind of earth console that had been sized up a few times over to better fit the servos of a Cybertronian. Smiling in acknowledgement, the big bot nodded as he went back to cleaning. Digital music met his audials as his friend started up the system and began to play, reclining on the couch as he settled in for a much needed break. Bulkhead had only had middling success with the games popular on earth, owed in large part to his size, but he was at least happy his friend could have some much needed fun with them. 

When the floor was finally cleaned up, he took stock of his slightly diminished inventory. There was still plenty of paint, and more than a few canvases, but if they continued at their current pace… He'd have to figure out a strategy before they tried this again, because otherwise this just wasn't going to work. Looking up at Bumblebee, he briefly considered proposing that they try this another day before his thoughts were systematically interrupted. 

Laying on his back over the pile of stuffing that had once been a couch, the small mech was entirely engrossed in his digital world, optics focused only on the screen as his digits rapidly tapped away on the controls. Other than the occasional shift of his expression, he was entirely motionless. It took Bulkhead a moment to process what he was seeing. Bumblebee was so rarely still, and never for this length of time… He didn't need to think much before he was reacting the only way he could.

Moving as silently as a mech of his size was able to, he grabbed what he needed, gathering his paints around himself as he got a fresh canvas and sat down before his easel. He couldn't have asked for a better setup; the pose, the lighting, it was all perfect. It was almost too much to hope this was real. Considering how many false starts he'd had, most could probably understand why he felt that way.

Daring to take his time, the big bot made every brush stroke count, trying to think of all the reasons he liked Bee so much as he made each one. His friend was confident, energetic, brave… All those thoughts motivated him every second he worked, and the results were soon apparent. The form of Bumblebee began to take shape rather quickly, coming together far more smoothly thanks to how relaxed he was. A base layer was ready to go in what felt like only a few minutes.

Oblivious to everything, Bumblebee kept right on playing, occasionally sticking his glossa out as he did so. Bulkhead contemplated including that detail in the piece, but ultimately decided against it. This was going to be a somewhat more dignified painting than that. 

When the time came to add lighting, he was almost over the moon, but he kept all the excitement to himself. Colors mixed together beautifully on his palette, forming the light and dark shades to the vibrant yellows and deep blacks that made up his friend's paint job. It was far more satisfying than painting even the most beautiful landscape he'd ever seen. Perhaps he was just a little biased on that front, but he did believe that painting things you truly cared about just brought them to life. One only had to glance at this piece to understand how much this bot meant to him.

It almost seemed like he was dreaming when each and every glance revealed Bumblebee to be sitting perfectly still, without a hint of movement beyond the minor. If this did turn out to be a dream, he'd at least be happy it was going so well. Fate had truly designed the perfect setup for them to finally get this done without any stress for either individual. 

Everything came together with what felt like only a few of the most well done strokes he'd ever painted. At long last, the bot he'd wanted to paint so badly had been captured on canvas! It was so exciting he couldn't hold back an exclamation as he set his brush down theatrically.

"Done!"

"Huh?!" Bumblebee gasped, half jumping on the spot as his game nearly flew from his servos. Looking about in a daze, he put the pieces together when he saw his friend, at which point guilt crossed his features. Time had slipped away from him even more so than it had for the very busy Bulkhead. "What? I… oh, Bulk! I didn't mean to get distracted! You could have stopped me earlier, I wouldn't have minded."

Waving off the appreciated but unnecessary apology, the big bot only smiled and wiped some paint from his servos, rising from his chair to puff his chest out with pride. "That's okay, I'm already finished."

"How?" the little bot gasped in awe, checking his internal chronometer to see just how long he'd been wrapped up in his game. It had only felt like a few minutes, but this wouldn't be the first time he'd gotten lost in a video game.

"Well, you were pretty content playing your game, so…" Bulkhead allowed his friend to put the rest of the pieces together, and in no time understanding dawned on the little mech. 

"Oh, I gotcha!" Bumblebee replied happily, quite relieved to have not held them up. If playing video games was what it had taken to make his friend happy, then he was quite fine with that. All he wanted was to get a look at the results, which he was certain would be incredible. "Here, let me see!"

Feeling a bit of shyness amongst his pride, Bulkhead handed over the canvas, careful to avoid the still drying paint.

"This is amazing!" Bumblebee proclaimed without hesitation, trying to be delicate even as he felt a surge of excitement upon beholding the painting. Of course he knew his friend had talent, but this was incredible! "Look at me, I look even better than usual!"

Bulkhead looked down to the floor and shuffled his pedes, doing his best to hide the blush creeping along his cheeks. "Well, I had a pretty great model."

"That's gonna sell fast, Bulkhead. No doubt about it." Bumblebee praised as he gave the painting back, confident in what he was saying. It didn't hurt that he was a good looking bot, but his friend had really done an especially good job on this one, and he was sure it would be bought up in no time. Taking the piece, the big bot smiled softly as he beheld it again. It had taken a lot of courage for him to get this, and he was quite proud of himself for that. As such, he held the painting very near and dear to his spark.

"Maybe, but… I think I'm gonna keep it, actually." he said softly, wanting to see it every day. There was a perfect place for it where he could do just that, not that he would say where that was. Bumblebee didn't mind the decision in the slightest.

However, when the little bot ducked in his friend's room later to pick up a borrowed item, he learned the true value of the painting to Bulkhead. On a wall reserved for only his most precious of works, the portrait sat high in a position of honor. Usually unable to say everything that came to mind due to overwhelming volume, Bee had been rendered speechless by the sight. Only a soft smile revealed how touched he was by the gesture. 

[jabbers-artsy-hoard]

All right, ladies and gents and non-binary friends! The fact of the matter is, I’m currently struggling to make ends meet. I’m not going to lie about that. I have no job, no money currently coming in at all. At least not from my end. I’m not going to let it keep me down, but I am going to look to you guys, to the people of Tumblr, for a little help while I try to get my life in order.

So I am opening up some fairly limited commissions. And by limited, I don’t mean ‘limited time offer’ or that I’m going to limit how many commissions I take. No, nothing like that. Instead, it’s going to be limited to what I know I can do well right now, and may open up for other things later. That being said, let’s get started!

Have you ever wondered what your muse would look like, if they were a dragon in the Spyro universe? Or maybe you’ve wondered what you would be like if you lived in the Dragon Realms. Well, wonder no more, friends! Because that is exactly the kind of commissions I am offering you! It’s been a lot of fun for me to try to translate other characters into Spyro-verse dragons. Typically they’ve been humans to dragons so far, but I’m willing to do absolutely any kind of muse! Animal or alien or humanoid, throw them at me!

So yeah. I’m starting with Spyro-verse dragon/dragonsona commissions, since it’s the easiest for me to do right now, and they’re the ones I can get done quickest for the time being. My computer has been buggy lately, so while normally I would offer other options such as icons or rp graphics, I can’t include those at this time. Even if I do have a couple icon commissions that have been unfinished for months.. But anyway! Without further ado, let’s talk prices!

All right, so I am offering these commissions in a few different ways, but I’m not going to put the prices too high for now, because.. well, I need to get people to start buying first. So, I’ll start low and maybe move up as popularity grows, I dunno. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Anyway! Commission types and their related prices are as follows.

Basic Sketch - $10 (+ $5 for any additional characters, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example:

Inked - $15 (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example:

Inked & Shaded - $18 (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example: 

Inked & Digitally Colored - $20-$30, depending on complexity (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories, please allow up to two weeks for coloring, I have limited resources)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, plain sketch - $30-$40, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, inked lineart - $35-$45, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, inked & shaded - $38-$48, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories)

Example: Currently N/A

Full Scene, inked & digitally colored - $40-$50, depending on complexity, usually features up to three characters in the base price (+ $5 for each additional character, + $1 for large weapons or accessories, please allow up to one month for coloring, I have limited resources)

Example: Currently N/A

Expression Sheet - $20, comes in a basic set of six, can be ordered in multiple sets, each additional set costs $10 if bought in a single order

Example: Currently N/A

Now, I am also offering something in addition to just making the drawings themselves. Each commission, when finished, will be gifted to the commissioner free of charge, and in physical form. Yes, that’s right. Because I am going to be doing these commissions by hand and on physical paper, once they’re finished, I am going to ask you guys for an address that I can mail them to.

Now, I’m not asking you to give me your home address necessarily, unless that’s the only place you can receive mail, but if you have a P.O. box address I can send your commissions to, then that’s what I’ll be asking for. And actually, I should mention that this isn’t required. It’s just an added bonus if you would like the physical copy of the original work. But you don’t have to take it if you’re not comfortable giving me an address. I can also keep the physical copy, safely tucked away in a file of my work.

This might not include digitally colored commissions, but there is a possibility if I am able to access a place to print them. I do have somewhat limited resources, but I am always happy to give you guys the actual artwork that you pay for, and you don’t have to pay shipping fees. That’s the gifting part of the deal. All you’re paying for is the process, the time, and the artwork itself. Even if you don’t want to have it in person.

And that being said!!

Oh, but.. Wait. Just one more thing.

If you are under 18+, do not read below the cut. Any requests for these extra offers by anyone under 18 will be denied.

I am also willing to accept nsfw commissions. Yes, that’s right, folks. Considering that I myself am 30+ years old, I do not mind the occasional ‘adult content’ commissions. These commissions can include:

Nudity

Sex

Gore

Vore

Horror

or any other type of content that would be considered nsfw. But again, these are commissions for your Spyro-verse muse. Only for dragons this time. But if all goes well in this first round of commissions, I may open this up for other types of muses as well. And, if you really want, I will also offer self-insert nsfw commissions. I do not judge, and I do not refuse any ship or muse or self-insert content.

Unless you are underage. Which, I have no doubt that the under 18s got curious and read all of this too, so I will remind you guys that I will be asking for the ages of any of these nsfw commissioners, and I expect honest answers. Especially since I will be going through a three-day long protocol list for these commissions to ensure that I am not accidentally selling p*rn or other such nsfw content to minors.

And for those adults who get subjected to this three-day process, I am honestly very sorry to make this seem a bit inconvenient, but I’m sure you all understand that I am doing my best to protect the younger folks. I want to be careful, and I want to do right by the youth of today. But that being said, I also will be doing what I can to ensure that an adult isn’t buying a nsfw commission for someone under 18+.

I am treating this with the same level of caution and dedication, as if I were selling alcohol in a grocery store, which I have read up on the laws for, actually fairly extensively, so I do know how to manage this. I’m sorry to those inconvenienced by this, but if you’re really getting inconvenienced by an artist taking the necessary precautions to protect any minors, then perhaps you shouldn’t commission me for something nsfw. Just something to think about.

[thewolfmanslayer]

Honestly the amount of people who say artists and writers should do stuff for free, or try to rip them off on comissions still royally piss me off.

I think the worst part of it is the entitlement, I dont want to make this too much about generations but a lot of commissioners are millenial/Gen z's who grew up on the "steal and pirate everything" mentality, take everything that you can because no one else is going to hand it to you. which I can get behind, when you are screwing over MULTI BILLION DOLLAR COMPANIES. NOT THE STRUGGLING ARTISTS AND WRITERS who are trying to keep food on the table as desperately as you probably are!

It's simple, you wouldn't walk into a restaurant, order food and tell the server "sorry I don't have any money, but I've got like a few thousand followers on social media, I can get your name out there, get the restaurant some exposure" NO! They don't need "exposure" they need you to pay the damn bill!

On top of that, most of these artists and writers ALREADY HAVE FOLLOWINGS. They already have thousands of people following them, waiting for the chance to get a commission, who are willing to pay for said commission, they don't need "exposure" when they're already out there! He'll even the artists and writers with a few hundred don't need it, they'll get more followers as time goes by, their skill alone will see to it.

And what is with people trying to get free art and writing? It's not going to work! You can't harass someone until they cave, trust me, you'll be long since blocked before you even have the opportunity. I don't do comissions, online anyways, but my own friends and family, people who actually know me STILL PAY ME whenever they ask for me to do art for them because they KNOW it takes TIME AND EFFORT.

How many times do we need to have this discussion???? Like when is it going to finally click that people who need to pay their bills just as much as you do AREN'T going to do this shit for free!?

Here's the thing about art and writing, that you've heard a billion times but still aren't getting; IT. TAKES. TIME. AND. EFFORT. TO. GET. DONE. the art isn't going to magically appear and the writing isn't going to suddenly write itself, if either were so convenient YOU WOULDNT BE ASKING AN ARTIST OR WRITER IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Look at that, you see that? The first picture I did back in 2012-13, the picture beside it? I did that TWO YEARS AGO. I didn't suddenly know exactly what to do, or had anything close to a god given talent for drawing (I'm not that talented). The first picture WAS THE ABSOLUTE BEST I COULD DO AT THE TIME THAT I MADE IT. In the time between these two drawings I admittedly took a break from art, but then I got back into it four years ago. EVEN STILL that was four YEARS of starting over from the basics, relearning everything, learning new things, wanting to actually improve my art.

Which, guess what, DID NOT HAPPEN OVER NIGHT. It was HOURS UPON HOURS of my limited free time as an adult drawing over and over and over and over again, every single goddamn day to get to the point that I was able to make that redraw look as good as it does in comparison. He'll, my art now puts them both to shame! Because I spent the time improving my quality!!

Now look at these artists doing comissions, they've probably put EVEN MORE of their time to get that good! They've put in LITERAL YEARS of sweat, blood, tears, frustrations and dedicated hardwork. Some did the same as me, self teaching and lots of practice, others probably had to go to school, which definitely wasn't cheap. But all of us put in that time and effort TO REACH THESE POINTS. Of being better artists, developing our styles, getting faster at drawing.

And maybe you think that this is super easy, right? That I or every other artist can just fire some art off and boom its good and done in like an hour?

FUCK. NO.

Even now it takes me several hours a day OVER MANY DAYS to make something exceptionally good! It doesn't matter how good an artist is, it still. Takes. Time.

Maybe the issue is that you don't understand how much actually goes into art, let me break it down for you, the steps that most people follow to finish ONE drawing.

-Rough draft: general character outline, get a feel for what I want to draw.

-Rough sketch: I start doing a bit of pencil to start filling in details like mouth, nose, eyes, hair, clothes. Ect.

-Penciling: I go over the rough sketch and clean everything up, maybe do some editing, this is when you can start making out all the details.

-Ink: I trace over the finished pencil with a pen tool and actually have the line art, everything looks clean, presentable, it actually looks like a character now. I'll spend time editing this and possibly redoing the inking many times over to get to a point where I like it.

-Flat color: I decide on which colors to use for skin tone, clothes accessories. Ect.

-Shading/highlights: I figure out where my light source is and how strong it is, I then apply the correct amount of lighting and shadows to the color to give it depth, I also have determine the texture of skin, clothes and accessories to make everything look real and natural.

-Blending: I smooth out the shading and highlights so that it looks more natural and isn't too hard (noticeable difference between color) so that it looks as natural as possible.

-Finish: I go over last minute details, finish any editing or corrections that need to be done. Once it's good I call it a day.

Each process is longer in length then the previous, with the exception of the final editing (as long as everything looks good) and even the rough draft can take some time. Over all this is SEVERAL HOURS of work for a SINGLE DRAWING.

So is it sinking in yet? How much is put into doing even a single character drawing? God forbid if its done with background. This isn't a "scratch a pen around and be done with it in ten minutes" kinda deal, no, this is SEVERAL HOURS OF SOMEONES LIFE BEING PUT INTO THIS

And if you still have the AUDACITY to try and wrangle free art from an artist then there's no helping you, you're just a selfish piece of shit, no question and I want nothing to do with you.

Someone might say "But I got free art/writing from.-" look I don't give a shit if someone did something for you THAT ONE TIME, these other artists and writers? Totally seperate and different people. You're one freebie experience does not, and should not apply to other artists and writers.

"But what if I really want this commission but don't have the money right now?" Well, that's tough shit. Save up and properly commission them when you can, it's not their problem.

"But what if I'm in a really bad financial situation and really want it?" That sucks, and I'm sorry, but again, not their problem. Chances are this is their only source of income and they need to make money so that they don't end up in a similar situation.

"They have a gift! They should share it!" What kind of cheap ass- LOOK, just because someone is talented or really good at something does not automatically obligate them to do anything for total strangers in anyway shape or form. These are living, breathing people, the same as you. They need to eat, they need to pay rent/mortgages, they need to pay vet bills, send their kids to college, do their taxes and everything else that YOU YOURSELF need to do. Asking anyone to spend their time doing something for free, when that something is how THEY ARE SURVIVING is beyond asinine. Not only that, this obviously isn't a hobby to them, it is very clearly THEIR JOB. Would you want to do a job where you didn't get paid at all? Doing a shit ton of work for absolutely nothing? No? Didn't think so.

"It shouldn't be about the money!" Well unfortunately, as with almost every other job, it is. We live in a world where we desperately need to make money in order to survive. That's the painful fact of the matter. If money never had to be an issue ever again then this would be a very different story. But it's not, plain and simple as can be.

Look, these people are just like you, artists and writers who are just trying to get by in a shitty ass world, using the one thing they have that let's them have an income. Leave them be, don't try and trick them, guilt them, or cuss them out when you don't get your way. Either properly comission or leave them the hell alone, plain and simple.

[scotianostra]

November 10th 1839 saw the birth of Thomas Ross, he became best known for the partnership of MacGibbon and Ross, who wrote comprehensive multi-volume books about Scotland's castles and churches.

If you haven't heard of the duo, I can be sure that you will have seen some of  his drawings that were included in their books, I have used these many many times on my posts to show how castles would have looked in the 19th century. Thomas Ross was the son of a farmer, also Thomas Ross, and Ann Murray. He was born at Wardheads, Errol, and attended local schools before going to Glasgow around 1855 to work as an assistant to architect Alexander Kirkland. He soon moved to the office of Charles Wilson, winning a measured drawing competition during his time there. He spent the proceeds on a study trip to Yorkshire, visiting Fountains Abbey among other sites.

In 1862 he began as an assistant to David MacGibbon in Edinburgh, and was made a partner in the firm of MacGibbon and Ross ten years later. Soon after this he married Mary MacLaren. Ross began sketching the architecture of Scotland along with his senior partner, contributing to the latter's public lectures, and culminating in the pair's major publications. After MacGibbon's moved to the continent, Ross managed the practice alone, and also continued to make sketching trips for their ongoing publications. The books brought in many commissions for restoration work, but many schemes were never realised, and business declined generally.

After MacGibbon's death in 1902, his place was taken by his son Alfred. Ross himself was appointed as a founder commissioner of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in 1908, and was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1910. RCAHMS is now a  part of Historic Scotland, holding many photographs and artwork from our old buildings, also giving details of field reports of visits made to these structures through the years, again a great resource for me when I put a post together about a castle and it's history.

Fred MacGibbon was later appointed architect to  RCAHMS, but was diagnosed as diabetic and resigned in 1914, dissolving the practice. He died the following year.

Ross continued alone until 1916, when he retired to his home in Saxe-Coburg Place, Edinburgh, occasionally undertaking small commissions. He was arrested in 1915 for sketching in a prohibited area, while studying Rossend Castle in Fife, and fined five shillings. In 1918 he was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy as Professor of Antiquities.

He died three years after his wife, at the age of 91, and was survived by his son James MacLaren Ross, also an architect, and two daughters. He is buried in Comely Bank Cemetery in north Edinburgh.

Pics are of Thomas Ross, Carrick Castle, near Lochgoilhead,  Drochil Castle, Scottish Borders and Braikie Castle, which is between Arbroath and Brechin.

More on Ross here http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php…

[okamigekidoo]

Review under “keep reading” section. 

Guess what everyone? Sam (my custom suit of my fursona) is DONE!!!! I originally didn’t plan on there being whiskers buttt....the maker said it would look super cute on her, and finish them off. So...I said yes! I also love seeing peoples interpretations of my characters, and I love seeing the implementations of my style the maker used, to give my fursona yet another touch of myself in the creation process. 

(The shape of the ears, the big teeth, and the snout spots where the whiskers are. Lets not even talk about how much I ADORE the seperate, round eyebrows on the suit!!!)

The work they did is absolutely phenomenal, and I cant WAIT to get em in the mail. I feel like I could talk all day long, about how much I LOVE the outcome, and how kind the maker was. 

I’ll leave a little review under the cut here, as it’s more simple to read, than watching my video on it!

Who is the fursuit maker? The fursuit maker is @/frouzon ! His commissions are currently closed, but I believe he’s opening back up sometime in early 2021 for more commissions, but don’t hold me to it!

Waiting times? I was originally given a wait period for roughly 4 to 5 months, but due to covid, and personal life occurrences, I waited for 9 months or so (and still counting as of this minute! Sam has still gotta have a finishing touch done and to be shipped < 3

Durability? Frouzon sent me a video of him holding the suit by its teeth, and then it’s ears, and slung Sam around. The suit didn’t seem to be bothered one bit, and most of his sowing on the head, is done by hand, I believe. (I also believe he not only sows, but glues the head to the base, and the sows part of the fur, to the base itself.) I also watched him pick it up, as if there was no worry in the world of how he picked it up. It shows he has no doubt about the quality and durability behind hs work, and that in itself is a very comforting thing to see (as, many of you may know, a custom suit is NOT cheap)

Communication and customer service? Oh my GOD where do I even begin? This makers utmost best quality, is their communication. Something came up, that may halt fursuit making? Cool! He tells us what's going on, and roughly how long the wait will be. You want to add something, or change something? Awesome! He responds fast, and answers all the questions you’ve got. He even compensated for the waiting time, by throwing in some free eyelids, that I was gonna purchase from him to make! This may sound strange but-it’s almost like talking to a close friend, weirdly enough! I’ve never felt as comfortable with someone I was commissioning, than when working with Frouzon. Maybe it’s just his vibe, I’m really not sure-but what I AM sure of, is that when it comes to finishing a full body suit? I know EXACTLY who I’m going to. My mom might even be getting a suit from him, isn’t that cool?

Style? I really believe the suit matches the style of the prototype sketch I was given. Of course you cant expect it to look exactly the same, but I was definitely given the gist of what this sketch represented when I initially commissioned him. I adore the way he emphasized on the big ears, toony eyes, and big maws-it’s the main features of my fursona so I’m glad to see them represented so perfectly!

Price? Dude, I’m gonna be real-you get MORE than what you pay for. His prices are rather cheap for the quality, look, and finish for these suits. One of the reasons I was attracted to said suit maker’s, style-was because of the “affordability” that came along with it. (Also, can you please go look at their bird suits? If I had an avian sona I promise you he is the first person I would book it after, I’m not even kidding) You can check out his prices here, and take a look for yourself! Fursuit commissioners will get why I say he’s on the more afforable side of the spectrum. His kindness is proven through a statement I believe he said, where his prices were lower to make suits more affordable to those who really want one. Which that is the SWEETEST shit I’ve ever read. Not only is it considerate of those less fortunate in the fandom, but it makes the pure kindness of this maker more apparent than you could even fathom. 

Security, and Quoting? Quoting was very simple to do. I DM’ed him, we went through a few ideas, and he continued to give me prices for what I asked for (and lemme just say he was very patient with me, and I was very indecisive). In the final decision, I was sent a legal document which we both signed, stating his TOS, and everything to expect. It had a few other things on it, but I don’t think it’s quite my place to share such a document. I believe things like that are more personal! 

Links:

Frouzon//TWS Telegram channel: https://web.telegram.org/#/im?p=@FrouzonUpdates

Trello List: https://trello.com/b/6StKU6R0/threads-workshop-queue

Frouzon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frouzon/?hl=en

Frouzon’s Twitter:https://twitter.com/frouzon?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

TWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWS_Fursuits

[thesurielships]

the perp II

note: I am practically making up laws in this. I have no idea how police and justice work in the US, nor in my country tbh, so please hold your disbelief. This is inspired by Brooklyn 99. If you haven’t watched it, you should.

note 2: I’m trying to write as much as possible, and to stop obsessing over the small details and just let the story flow. Which means that this will probably have a lot of imperfections, but a part 3 will be coming soon :))

Word count: 1.6k

Part 1 | Masterlist

An insistent knock startled Feyre out of her creative trance. She looked up to her boss’s usual stoic face.

“Captain Azriel,” she nodded in acknowledgement, trying to calm her panic down. He had only knocked once on her desk and folded his arms behind his back. That was never a good sign.

“My office. Now.”

Feyre blinked at his retreating figure. He hadn’t returned her acknowledgement. That was a terrible sign. She quickly followed him to his office as there was nothing he hated more than tardiness.

“Yes, Captain?”

He was already in his seat, hands steepled on his desk. “Close the door, detective.”

She did, noticing the keen gaze Lucien kept directed their way. She smiled and closed the blinds, too.

“Take a seat.”

She did, and then looked at the captain expectantly.

“Did you threaten a fellow officer with a gun?”

Feyre’s blood froze. “Captain, I - ”

“I have just received an official complaint from Detective Rosetool stating that you twisted his arm behind his back, pressed him against a wall and put a gun to his head.”

“It wasn’t to his head,” Feyre couldn’t help arguing. “It was to his spine.”

The captain leaned back in his seat, his expression unchanging.

“I didn’t want to kill him, only paralyse him.” Even she knew she sounded bratty.

“So you would have willingly maimed a fellow officer?”

“I didn’t actually do it, now did I? Besides, if we’re at the stage of filing official complaints, I might as well present one myself. Detective Rosetool is a sexist asshole who thinks that our past relationship gives him the right to get involved in my cases, to ask about my comings and goings, to follow me home and threaten other male fellow officers who dare speak to me. He has abused me multiple times prior to our break up, and I have several scars and medical reports to prove it.”

Feyre was breathing hard. She had stood up at some point during her tirade, and was ready to submit her resignation and storm off this Cauldron damned precinct if she had to. Why she hadn’t reported Tamlin before, or left all of it behind, she didn’t know. Her throat was starting to close up, tears pricking her eyes. But she would not break down in front of her superior officer. She. Would. Not.

“Alright.”

Feyre blinked. “Alright?”

The captain’s gaze was steady, either oblivious to the storm of emotions coursing through her or wisely choosing not to comment on it. “I will submit your formal complaint.”

“What about Tamlin’s?”

“As it is not entirely truthful, I have the right to refuse to forward it.”

Feyre could not believe her ears. “Why are you doing this?”

“Yours is not the first complaint I have received about detective Rosetool. Many others have spoken up about his inappropriate behavior before, and his record is not as clean as he would like it to be.”

“Sir,” her voice was shaky with unshed tears. “You do realize that his dad is the former NYPD commissioner, right? This could get you in trouble.”

Captain Azriel’s smile was small and full of menace as he said, “Do not worry about it, detective Archeron. I have my ways.”

***

The day after her intriguing conversation with the hairdressers at Dora’s, and her sob fest following her talk with Captain Azriel, Feyre went around the shops in that neighborhood looking for eye witnesses. She did not use her sketch, however, as that would have been a little unprofessional. And embarrassing, she thought as she remembered the powerful body, the sexy smirk and the violet eyes she had drawn the previous night in the privacy of her own apartment. Then her thoughts drifted to the dream she’d had of being pressed against a tattooed chest and cocooned in huge membranous wings.

And touched in places she hadn’t been touched in a while.

“… gone home by then. Detective?”

She nodded absently. If she hadn’t been so focused on hiding her flushed face behind her hair as she pretended to write something down in her notebook, she would have noticed the nervousness radiating off the owner of the sea food restaurant. He kept wringing his hands, his forehead shone with sweat and his feet were shifting constantly.

“Detective, actually…”

Feyre’s head snapped up at the careful tone. “Yes?”

“There is one more bit of information that might help you, but I don’t know if I can…” he trailed off with a wince.

“No one will know you told me, Mr. Varian.”

He swallowed audibly, then seemed to steel himself. “It’s about Dora, the owner of the salon.”

She nodded.

He hesitated, glancing at the salon behind her. Feyre tried her best to look reassuring.

“Her boyfriend is in the mafia.”

She held her breath. “Do you know which one?”

He cleared his throat. Once. Twice. “Actually… he’s the head of Hybern.”

Feyre felt like she went fishing for eels and caught a shark instead. “Are you certain?”

“I see him leaving her salon at 11:15 every night.”

She wanted to whoop and jump around in joy. David Hybern was just the kind of big fish she needed to catch to get her a promotion, hopefully away from the flower tool. “Thank you, Mr. Varian. You’re doing this city a great favor.”

And me, she thought, giggling internally, before mentally scolding herself for her selfishness.

“Just get him off these streets,” the chef answered wearily. “He strikes terror in everyone’s hearts. My kids can’t even sleep these days.”

“Rest assured, Mr. Varian. We will try our best to put this criminal behind bars.”

***

“So I heard our perp is quite the hunk.”

Feyre snorted. “They said he had violet eyes and blue hair.”

“Maybe he’s not human. Maybe he’s a vampire,” her partner, Suriel, speculated. “Or a faerie. My chaman told me those are on quite the rampage lately.”

Feyre rolled her eyes.

“What? A thief who doesn’t steal anything, who is so hot he charmed the pants off his victims, and who disappears into the night. Doesn’t this sound fantastical to you?”

“One, maybe he was just there to gather intel, and he’s planning his heist for later. Two, there is such a thing as Stockholm’s syndrome. And three, at least half of our perps disappear into the night.”

“Why would someone plan a heist on a hairdressing salon?” Suriel’s tone was dismissive. “It’s not even that fancy.”

Feyre kept silent, her eyes fixed on said salon.

“You know something, don’t you? There is more to this case that you’re not telling me.”

“Well, maybe you should’ve been there, Suriel. Next time, don’t leave me to interrogate moonstruck women alone.”

“It was a bad day for Pisces! I couldn’t get out of the house.”

“There is no such thing as astrologically impaired days, Suriel.”

Suriel glowered. She hated when her partner dismissed her beliefs, and Feyre let her rant about astrology more often than not; but when it got in the way of their job, she drew the line.

“So, why are we on watch duty?”

Feyre’s eyes roamed the street, lingering on the dark corners and on the roofs surrounding Dora’s. “I told you he might be planning a heist.”

“Cut the crap.”

“Dora is dating David Hybern.”

Suriel gasped.

“He supposedly leaves the salon every night at 11:15pm.”

Detective Pisces, as she liked to call herself, was now bouncing in her seat. “So we’re here for Hybern, not the faerie hunk?”

“I don’t know. The robbery is weird. Maybe it’s linked to Hybern. Maybe our perp is in a rival gang and wanted to use Hybern’s girlfriend as leverage.”

“But he didn’t do anything to Dora. You said he even apologised.”

“Maybe he was looking for drugs? I mean Hybern is one of the biggest Fairy Wine suppliers in Velaris.” She ignored Suriel’s meaningful glance at the drug she mentioned.

“But why would he look for it in Dora’s purse?”

Feyre was spared from admitting her lack of ideas as she saw a silhouette pass near the window.

“Did you see that?” Suriel asked.

They were out the car and halfway to the salon before Feyre could answer. When they were five meters away from the front door, the lights were turned on. Feyre could just make out three silhouettes in Dora’s office. Suriel gestured for her to go in first, signaling that she’d come in through the back door, as was their usual modus operandi. Feyre nodded, grabbed her gun, and hurried in the salon. The main room was dark, but she could see enough to tell that nothing was amiss. The office was quiet. Feyre stuck to the wall, carefully nudging the door open with her foot.

“Who’s there?” asked a gruff male voice.

She held her breath.

“Do come in, officer. We were awaiting your arrival.” This time, the voice was deep and husky and caused a shiver to run down Feyre’s spine.

She braced herself, then burst into the room, gun cocked in her hands. She shifted it between the three people.

“NYPD, freeze!”

“If your strategy was to scare us into a heartattack, detective, it only worked on me,” Dora stated dryly from where she was held at gunpoint by none other than David Hybern himself. Feyre fixed her gun in his direction.

“Pointing your gun at the first person you see. Not a smart tactic, detective,” mused the husky voice from her right.

She slowly turned her head, almost dropping the gun she kept pointed at Hybern as her eyes beheld the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He was tall and tanned like he just got back from a vacation in Malibu. His muscled, shirtless chest bore an intricate tattoo. She hated to admit it, but his black hair did gleam blue. And the eyes that were studying her as meticulously as she had him were indeed violet.

There was only one small detail that ruined the wonderful portrait.

The faerie hunk had a gun pointed at her head.

 Tag list:  @joyceortiz13 @bailey-4244 @quakeriders @standbislytherin @mariamuses @ignite14 @1800-fight-me @velarian-trash @rhysands-highlady @queenblueoffire @rowaelinforeverworld @feeoly @buckybvrnes @dayanna-hatter @shadowstar2313 @goldfishh20 @sleeping-and-books @crackedship @your-high-lady @thesirenwashere

[raywritesthings]

Bird in a Storm 15/17

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Quentin Lance, Captain Stein, Lucas Hilton, Frank Pike, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: The confrontation between the Hood and SWAT on the roof of the Winick Building goes differently, altering the course of Laurel’s career, relationships and efforts to save her city forever, the shockwaves of such an altered path making themselves felt throughout her family and friends. *Can be read on my AO3, link is in bio*

Laurel was still having trouble processing what had happened at the memorial.

On some level, she knew Tommy’s dislike of the Hood wouldn’t mean good things if he ever found out Oliver’s identity, but to hear the words that had come out of his mouth that day had been another thing entirely. Where had that boy with the devil-may-care smile gone? Had she done this to him?

Laurel wasn’t naive enough to assume she was the only reason for Tommy’s new outlook and attitude. Her friend had always had an anger under the surface for what had happened to his mother, what his father hadn’t been able to be for him. There wasn’t anything she could have done to change those things, and so she had let it be. But maybe that had been wrong. She and Oliver had failed to be there for him, no matter their reasons for it, and now he apparently didn’t want or need their help. Who did they have to blame for it but themselves?

She was tackling Oliver’s salmon ladder today. The nice thing about his setup down here was that there was plenty of new things for her to learn that weren’t in the classes she had taken in self-defense, from Ted or with Anita. She was going to keep learning whatever she could get access to, because if she couldn’t help her friend then she would do everything she could to be ready to help others.

Oliver and Diggle sparred down below on the mats. After giving her a demonstration and watching her get up onto the first rung by herself, Oliver had left her to it. She liked that about them. One good thing about the distance they had had the last few months and her suiting up on her own was that he’d already realized she could handle things. For her part, Laurel knew that if she couldn’t, he and John were ready and willing to help out.

Laurel breathed in and out once on the top rung, her legs swinging back and forth in a slow, controlled manner, before she prepared to head back down. A beep from the computers distracted her, even more so when Oliver called out a halt to Digg and headed over.

She exchanged a look with the other man before hurrying to get back down, almost missing the last rung with the bar. She grabbed her water and towel and walked over. 

“Something about Athena turn up?”

“No,” Oliver said with a frown. She could tell it was bothering him, the lack of information on this woman who had replaced them both as Tommy’s confidant. “It’s the worm I sent into the SCPD’s computer system.”

Laurel felt both eyebrows raise. “You infiltrated the police’s computers?”

“Not the first time we’ve hacked them,” Diggle informed her.

“In my defense, this time was on your father’s orders,” Oliver added. “He’s worried about corruption and asked me to look into things.”

She was torn between laughing or screaming. “Okay, so my father, who had me surrounded by a SWAT team for asking you to help me on a case… wants you to help him on a case.”

Oliver blinked. “Uh… yup.”

“I can’t believe him!” Okay, maybe the anger was winning out. “He is such a hypocrite!” Even if she was at peace with how her life turned out, it wasn’t like it had been fun to get shot with a rubber bullet and lose her job, all for the exact thing her father was doing right now. It wasn’t like she wanted those things to happen to him, too, just some acknowledgement that maybe she hadn’t been wrong to do it. That there was a need in this city for vigilantes.

That he might not be angry if he ever found out what she was doing now.

“Trouble is, looks like he’s right,” said Diggle, who had taken possession of the mouse and was clicking through some of the data this data worm of Oliver’s had been collecting. “Look at this stuff from Nudocerdo’s time. Missing or deleted files on police misconduct, no records of disciplinary action, which means they either didn’t discipline anybody or they don’t want people to know if an officer’s been disciplined.”

“Lucky for us, it looks like Nudocerdo’s personal devices were connected up to the police systems at some point before he was fired. The worm got into them, too. Let’s take a look at his campaign finances.”

Laurel stopped pacing in order to come stand at Oliver’s side. He rubbed a hand up and down her back once in a show of comfort which she appreciated, especially since she was sweaty so it couldn’t have been very pleasant.

“You seeing what I see?” John asked a minute later.

“Yep,” Oliver answered grimly. “Tempest.”

“And what is Tempest exactly?” Laurel asked.

Oliver blanched, and Diggle sighed and looked down. “We should’ve told you this…”

“Told me what?”

“The reason Oliver agreed to interrogating his mother as the Hood,” Digg stated. “It was cause we found out she’d recovered the Queen’s Gambit wreckage, and it proved the boat wasn’t destroyed in the storm. It was sabotaged.”

Laurel felt her mouth drop open. “Sara wouldn’t have died out there?”

“Not if the boat hadn’t been targeted, no,” Oliver said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

She stepped back, trying to reconcile this was the anger and grief and the slow sense of a new normal she had been building for herself. Her sister had been murdered. Not intentionally — in fact, she probably hadn’t even been a thought in the perpetrator’s mind. But she could have come home. They could have had it out, the betrayal and all it had done. So much could have been different; maybe her whole life. Sara would have had a life.

“Laurel?” Oliver was hanging back, clearly unsure what he should do given the subject.

“It’s fine,” she said out loud, even if it wasn’t. But they were here to work. She could deal with her feelings in her own time. “What’s this got to do with Tempest?”

“It was the name of the shell company she used to pay to have the boat moved and stored somewhere. It’s been destroyed since,” John added before she could ask. “And it looks like Tempest also made regular contributions to Nudocerdo while he was Commissioner.”

“So he wasn’t just bad at his job, he was dirty,” Laurel concluded. “What about the other cops? The detectives, captains? How many of them can we tell are on the take?”

“I’ll have to comb through the files the worm grabbed. It’s gonna takes while,” Oliver said with a grimace. “I don’t think I can patrol tonight.”

He had gone out the last couple with her as she had been showing him her own method. Looking for crime as it happened rather than setting out for a predetermined target. Laurel couldn’t tell if he liked the imprecise nature of it or not, but she didn’t think he was saying this to get out of it.

“Maybe we could see if Felicity wants back in now that we know Tempest is still involved,” Diggle suggested.

“It’s not about Walter, so I don’t see why it would interest her,” Oliver replied. “And I’d rather not risk her feeling pressured.”

He’d been touchy about the amount of people who knew his identity and what they might do with it since the memorial. Laurel couldn’t blame him. It had to feel like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“It’s okay, I can do a solo one tonight.”

She started to walk over to her bag where she’d stored the black, gray and dark blue clothing she typically fought in, though Oliver called out to her.

“Laurel, are you gonna be okay?”

She looked back at him. “Yeah, Ollie. Just as soon as we figure out what Tempest really is and what they’re up to.”

Just how Mrs. Queen was mixed up with them? Was she Tempest or was she under their thumb? Laurel couldn’t get a read on Oliver or what he might be thinking about his mother. Did they need to question her again? And if they did, should Oliver really be the one in charge of it? She didn’t doubt he wanted the answers as much as she or John, but this was his mother. It would be hard for anything to think objectively in that situation.

She went into the back to change and headed out for the streets. Oliver had indeed upgraded her motorcycle, which had been quicker for him to do than the suit he claimed he was getting her custom made from a few different sources in order to avoid it being tracked. In some ways, she felt a little miffed that her version of things was being deemed inadequate, but Laurel knew that was pride over practicality. This was dangerous work, and it was better to have the best quality tools and materials available. 

And it wasn’t as if the stuff she had put together on her own was going totally to waste. She had kept the bike she had bought for cheap for her day job, which made getting to work quicker and also opened up the possibility for her to make deliveries. Pam had been delighted by the suggestion; a couple of her older customers couldn’t always find someone to drive them to the store, and this way new seeds, pots or plants could be delivered straight to them.

She refocused on the present as she came across a mugging, quickly driving off the attacker with the roar of her bike and her collapsible staff.

“Where were you trying to get to?” She asked the boy who had been held up. He was pale with dark blonde hair kept fairly long, sort of a bohemian-type.

“My apartment. It’s just up that way,” he said with a nod. “But thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Laurel kept up her patrol, sending a couple men running from a car parked on the street they’d been trying to jack. She was finding that with her swift approach on the bike, it tended to increase her intimidation factor. That or her reputation was growing. Maybe it was a little of both, and that thought made her grin. She had gotten her own police sketch, after all, she’d been amused to find out when John told her. That made her pretty official.

It also made her her dad’s problem to target. Assuming he was even doing that thing anymore. Dirty cops or no, this sort of thing he was doing with the Hood was so beyond what she ever would’ve thought him capable of.

Or what if it wasn’t? What if it was just another ruse, an attempt to lure Ollie into a trap? That sounded more like her father. He would never ask a vigilante for help; he’d deal with the dirty cops situation on his own. What had even caused him to realize it? Maybe he’d been making it up, only for Oliver’s computer virus to lend credence to it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp whistle. Laurel glared at the mirror before catching sight of the red hoodie in its reflection. Her annoyance disappeared as she pulled the bike around and followed Roy Harper into an alley.

“Nice ride,” he commented. “Pretty sure it’s out of your price range.”

“Yes, well the Hood and I have come to an agreement of sorts.”

Roy’s eyes widened. “You’re not just working for him now.”

“We’re working together. I thought you’d be happy about this,” she remarked. “The more the Hood and I work together, the better chance I have of bringing you in on things.”

“Yeah, I mean, I do want in,” Roy agreed, scuffing his shoe on the ground. “But people need you here, you know? Stopping the small stuff. The things he doesn’t always notice.”

Laurel hesitated. She had heard more than once from people in the Glades that while they may have no objections to what the Hood did, that it wasn’t really reaching them where they lived. They weren’t exactly wrong, but there was so much about the situation they couldn’t know, that she and Oliver and John didn’t even fully know yet.

“I think he’s noticing more all the time,” she finally answered, which was the truth. Whatever her own indignation towards her father, Laurel couldn’t have imagined the Oliver of two months ago let alone last year getting involved with systemic corruption in their city’s police force. “But don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. And I did ask him about you. He’s thinking about it.”

“Thanks,” Roy said. “Guess I should get out of here before anyone spots me with you.” He pulled his hood down further over his eyes and slipped back out into the main street. Laurel sat back on the bike seat to wait a while before heading back out there herself.

Roy’s words remained on her mind, however. What did she look like to the people who had noticed her in the Glades, zipping around on her top-of-the-line bike? Some kind of sellout? As much as she appreciated Oliver giving her access to better equipment and gear, she didn’t want people to think she was losing sight of what she had set out to do.

“That’s really what people think about me?”

She jumped, one arm already pulling back to deliver a punch before her mind caught up to the familiar voice. Laurel blinked at Oliver in surprise. “I thought you weren’t coming out tonight.”

“I ended up showing John what to look for in the files. He said he could handle it.” Oliver walked closer to her. “He also thought I should see how you were really feeling about everything.”

Laurel sighed, leaning forward on the handlebars. “What do you want me to say? I already knew my sister was dead. Now I know someone was indirectly responsible. Are you ever going to ask your mother who?”

He looked down, the hood he wore hiding his eyes. “I should. I just… something has been off about her ever since I came home. And especially since we got the news about Walter. I guess I’ve been afraid to find out what that is. I already know my father wasn’t who I thought he was. If my mother…”

Laurel reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. In a way, she understood. After losing her mother all those years ago, she had been desperate to keep the peace with her father and probably put up with more warning signs than it was worth instead of forcing them both to acknowledge his problems. “Our parents are going to disappoint us at times. Sometimes in a bigger way than most people go through.” She doubted many people had to deal with their father using them as bait for a SWAT operation gone wrong, after all. “But it doesn’t mean the things you know about them suddenly stop mattering. Whatever else, your father loved you. Your mother loves you. And if you still want her in your life, I think you can make that happen. But ignoring the problem isn’t how to do it.”

He nodded with a sigh. “Soon as I help your father, I’ll take care of it.”

“You don’t have to do it alone.”

His lips pulled up in a half-smile. “Maybe not, but it isn’t exactly a part of your mission.”

“My ‘mission’, if we’re calling it that, is to help people. And you fall under that category,” she reminded him with a prod to his shoulder. “You’ve been doing things my way the last couple of nights. It’s only fair I return the favor. And that starts with my dad’s thing.” If he thought she was sitting on the sidelines while her dad got involved in all this, he had another thing coming.

Oliver was silent for a moment, which had her narrowing her eyes. “What?”

“Your father… he’s hoping by resolving this issue, it will mean the city won’t need people like you or me. That things can go back to normal.” He frowned. “But seeing how widespread the corruption is, everything with Tommy and my mother, I don’t know how it can.”

“And normal isn’t exactly a good thing,” Laurel pointed out.

They both looked up at the sound of a scream from what sounded a few blocks away. A depressingly normal sound in the Glades.

“No, it isn’t,” Oliver agreed grimly. He raised his bow and fired a grapple arrow. Laurel gunned the engine of her bike, and they each took off toward the sound.

Whatever came next in their personal lives, acting in the face of injustice had become their new normal. And as far as Laurel was concerned, that was definitely a good thing.

---

Quentin started in his chair early that morning when a phone in his desk drawer started buzzing. It was the vigilante phone, which meant he really shouldn’t answer it inside. He quickly stood, doing his best to avoid Hilton’s questioning look as he headed out of the bullpen and out into the back alley. He was lucky enough to find it free of anyone on their smoke break. Finally, he answered the call.

“Yeah?”

“I have the information you requested, Detective,” the archer’s modulated voice spoke. “When and where can I deliver it to you?”

He had a feeling the vigilante wouldn’t react well to an immediate request, considering how light it was outside. Harder to hide in the shadows when they weren’t nearly so deep. “Uh… tonight. Down by the docks. Eleven?”

“I’ll be there.” With that, the line disconnected.

Quentin let out a breath. Tonight. He would know just which members of the force he was part of were dirty and which weren’t. He could take the information to Pike — at least, he hoped his gut was right that Pike was one of the good ones — and they could start cleaning house and getting this city back on track the right way.

He went back to his apartment to sleep off the night shift, showered and got some food in him. Then it was all down to waiting, which felt like an eternity rather than the few hours he knew it logically was.

Quentin took his own car rather than one of the squad cars, seeing as it would attract less attention. He kept his badge tucked away for that reason as well as he made his way down to the docks. He found a stack of crates to wait by that kept him mostly shielded from the lane trucks traveled up and down picking up or dropping off shipments. Not that there was much of that going on just now, but better to be safe than sorry.

Quentin kept checking his watch. He’d shown up early, sure, but it was already five past and no sign of him. What exactly was going on here?

“Seems your friend isn’t showing, Quentin.”

He startled as a flashlight beam hit him and straightened up. “Captain Stein.”

His superior raised a hand, the signal, he realized, for a number of SWAT lead by Warner to move in, surrounding him. Quentin raised his hands; he’d be a fool to reach for his gun now.

“Just what is this?” He knew he hadn’t been followed, so where had all of them come from?

“Ever since one of the copycat’s arrows disappeared from evidence, I knew we had a leak,” Stein stated, an underlying smugness in his tone. “And given your possession of a phone with a direct line to the Hood, you were the most obvious candidate. So I ordered Brock to take it out of your desk to have Crosby in CSU put some additional spyware on it. You could say your maneuver with your daughter inspired me,” the man added with a smirk.

Quentin’s blood ran cold as he noticed Brock standing there with his weapon raised alongside Hester, Lopez and — least surprising of all — Daily. These weren’t really his people, not besides Warner, and given the harsh glare she was directing his way, he didn’t think he’d see any leniency from her. The lack of Hall, despite her recruitment to the anti-vigilante task force nearly two months ago now, told him that this was Stein’s own hand-picked crew.

“We weren’t able to crack the encryption to follow the calls back to their source, unfortunately,” Stein continued on. “But I’ll consider bringing you in just one step closer to bringing down these vigilantes.”

Denying what he had been doing would get him nowhere, so Quentin didn’t even bother. “Look, I am trying to do the same thing. By tackling the problems that created the Hood and those like him in the first place. Bringing him in by force wasn’t working.”

“Because you lacked the conviction to do what was necessary. It’s why I had Daily join the Winick Building raid.”

Quentin’s breath stuttered in his chest. “You put him there so he’d shoot my daughter?” The younger officer was smirking where he stood, and if there weren’t a dozen guns pointed at him, he might have gone for the cocky bastard.

“You’ve failed to handle the situation objectively, Detective. Things were running just fine before this vigilante menace showed up, and I intend to see it return to that no matter who gets in the way!”

“Because your backers at Tempest have an interest in seeing it return to business as usual.”

Quentin had never been so relieved to hear the vigilante’s altered voice. Apparently the guy hadn’t pulled a no-show after all.

Two flechettes were thrown into the wrists of Warner and Hester, both of whom dropped their weapons. There were a couple grunts as Quentin caught movement near the back-left of the group; two of the men had fallen down. A few more of them turned, and it was this break in the formation that allowed him to glimpse a woman standing up from a crouched sweep kick, her fists raised. Dressed in black and dark blue with a mask and long, blonde hair, Quentin knew this could only be the Woman of the Glades.

This break in the formation gave the Hood time to rappel down from the roof of the warehouse he’d been waiting on top of, though Quentin didn’t watch to see where he landed as he was busy ducking around the crates to avoid Stein’s gunfire.

He quickly got out his own handgun and raised it, peering around the side to locate his enemy. Stein had moved back, out of reach of the Hood’s blows as he engaged both Daily and Lopez at once. 

The Woman had gotten possession of one of the SWAT shields and was using it as a battering ram on one side while she swung a staff with her free hand, throwing men twice her size to the ground. Quentin watched, however, as Cutter — the department’s first ever female SWAT member, battered the Woman back with her own shield. The Woman stumbled but kept her feet, her head giving a dazed shake for a moment. The two then circled each other before each charged.

Quentin circled around the other side of the crates, doing his best to crouch low in the hopes of getting the drop on Stein. The captain noticed him at the last second, forcing Quentin into a drop and roll as he fired on him.

“Attacking your own, Lance?”

“Trying to put a stop to this before anyone’s seriously hurt!” He called back. These people would have had enough evidence on him to arrest him at the station, but they’d waited to stage a sting operation with the clear intent of getting him and the Hood, and he doubted they’d stop at the Woman, since she’d been good enough to show. There weren’t rubber bullets in those guns, either, and judging by Stein’s attempt on his life just now, the order was shoot to kill.

An arrow sailed through the night and hit Stein’s gun, making him drop it. Quentin charged forward, knocking the older man to the ground and rolling him onto his chest. He wrenched Stein’s arms behind his back and got out his cuffs.

“If you’ve been listening to that phone since the Winick Building, then you could’ve shown up to catch him at Merlyn Global. But you didn’t, because it wasn’t personal yet, was it? You got nervous when I asked him for help rooting out corruption. Well, I’m gonna look through the evidence, find out just what this Tempest is and then it’ll be over for you and them!”

He looked up to take stock on the situation. Officers were either knocked out or tied up with those cable arrow things. The Hood was lifting Cutter up and away from the Woman, who had a split lip. She hauled back and punched the SWAT officer right in the face.

Quentin stood up. “Hey!” He didn’t need them doing that!

The Woman startled and looked away from him, her shoulders hunched. There was something almost sheepish in the gesture. He could also see a small tear in the shoulder of her jacket.

The Hood placed Cutter back on the ground considering she was knocked out cold. Then he walked over towards Quentin, his head ducked to avoid showing much more than his chin.

“This flash drive contains everything you’ll need.”

Quentin took it with a nod of thanks. He couldn’t help noticing that the Woman was already retreating back towards where he could just see the handlebar of a motorbike sticking out from the shadow of a building. Even less talkative than the Hood, apparently. Though that didn’t match the scant reports about her they’d gotten.

Before the Hood could take his leave as well, Quentin gestured towards her retreating form. “So is this, uh, a regular thing now?”

“It won’t be easy cleaning up the corruption and its effects on this city, Detective. You’ll need people like me and her for a while yet.”

It was the opposite of what he had wanted to hear tonight. But the one comfort he could draw was that the Hood sounded far from smug about it. He likely longed for the days when this city wouldn’t need him, too.

“Alright. I better call this in.” He turned away to get out his radio and heard the Hood depart. Now what the hell was he going to say about all this exactly? Best thing to do, request Hilt and see what he thought.

Predictably, his partner felt Quentin had landed them in a whole heap of trouble. “Even if what’s on that flash drive is a hundred percent genuine, you did agree to meet with a vigilante to get it, Quentin. What are we supposed to say to Pike about that?”

“Pike’s gonna have to accept that cops on some special interest group’s payroll is a bigger problem.”

Sooner than he would have liked, they had more officers on the scene to help get the injured parties treatment and to bring Stein, at the very least, in. It turned out he hadn’t put this little raid on the books, so it wasn’t only Quentin who would be answering some awkward questions.

To his great relief, Kelton took the flash drive. He made the CSU promise to guard it with his life. Quentin didn’t doubt that Crosby or someone else in on all this would love to make it disappear.

He sat waiting inside Pike’s office for the rest of that night, waiting for his direct superior to go through all of the evidence and question who he needed to. Quentin knew this probably didn’t look great for him, but he also knew he had done the right thing, and if he could just convince Frank of that, then maybe he might walk out of here a free man.

His real phone buzzed with a text just as the early light of dawn was creeping in through the window. Quentin glanced at it, saw Laurel’s name, and sat up to rub at his eyes. It read how’s everything?

He felt the corner of his mouth twitch. Somehow his girl always knew when to check on him. He considered it a good thing Laurel was actually reaching out considering they’d still only made a few halting attempts each to patch things up. Quentin wrote back, long night, but fine. At least he hoped it would be. But considering he hadn’t been hauled into a holding cell yet, he had hope.

Like a summons, the thought was immediately followed by Pike opening the door to his office and coming around to his side of the desk. A large folder was under his arm that he set down and opened.

“Quentin,” his long-time superior sighed. “This would’ve been easier if you would have just come to me.”

“Maybe, but sir, I did point out my concerns about Daily in particular to you, which you said you couldn’t do anything about. Now we both know why. Stein was protecting his man.”

“But a vigilante? The same vigilante you told me you didn’t want to give up hunting even when I scaled back the taskforce!”

He winced. “Things… changed. I realized I needed someone independent to look into what was going on here. What did Kelton find on that flash drive? Did it say what this Tempest is?”

“I already know what Tempest is,” Frank answered.

That caused his mouth to snap shut for a moment. “What do you mean, ‘you know’?”

“I mean I was informed about this Tempest just this past evening,” the Lieutenant clarified. “If I’d known it related to the vigilante case, I would have called you in.”

Quentin sat back. “Well, hang on, what is it really about?”

“It appears there is a group of the city’s most wealthy who got together to form a bloq,” Pike explained. He passed over the file, and Quentin took it, flipping through. The bribes were there, though not just to the SCPD. As he continued reading, he also came upon a record of property purchases in the Glades. “They’ve been behind a lot of the decisions made in the last several years, deciding what they think is best. And I have to warn you, Quentin, their end goal is… I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around it.”

He flipped another page and came upon schematics. Bomb schematics.

“What the… what the hell were they doing with this?”

“Nothing, yet. We were informed about this with enough time to do something. Now that you and, well, the vigilantes, have taken care of the people on the inside here that were working for them, we’ve got the upper hand. Now my source has identified the ringleader of this high society club, and I’m sending you and Hilton with backup to make the arrest.” Frank leaned forward. “You pull this off, Quentin, and no one’s going to care who you’ve been enlisting off the books. We’ll be heroes.”

He opened his mouth to tell his superior to get on with it and tell him who they were bringing in, but then he turned the final page. Quentin froze, his eyes widening.

“I’ll be damned…”

He should have known.

---

Thea relaxed on her bed, taking full advantage of the day off from community service. She was enjoying CNRI more now that Joanna was back and they occasionally actually did stuff, but she wouldn’t be a normal teenager if she wanted to work every single day. Besides, she had a kind of special event planned.

Thea was finally introducing her newly-christened boyfriend Roy to her mother. Thea had never bothered running her previous relationships past her mom, partly because she’d thought she hadn’t cared and partly because Thea hadn’t wanted it to be anyone’s business but hers. But if Walter’s loss had reminded her of anything, it was that you never knew how long you had with family. And truthfully, she thought it might bring her mom some comfort to know that Thea had someone special in her life.

She’d bullied Ollie into promising he would actually show for this since he had a bad habit of ditching family functions at the last second. It had helped that she had pointed out he and Laurel had ditched them at Mr. Merlyn’s memorial, and thus she and their mom hadn’t had the chance to catch up with what appeared to be a rekindling of their own relationship. So Oliver was supposed to be bringing both Laurel and Roy over to the manor.

Thea heard the sound of tires on the drive, so she quickly got up, checked her hair in the mirror and then raced out of her room and down the steps. Just as she reached the foyer, she heard a knock on the other side of the front door. That was weird, unless Ollie was making Roy knock in some stupid big brother intimidation routine.

She wrenched open the door, the smile freezing on her face when she found not her boyfriend, brother and his girlfriend waiting for her, but Detective Lance and his partner Hilton. Both officers grimaced at the sight of her.

“Is something wrong?”

“Where is your mother, Miss Queen?” Detective Hilton asked calmly. Thea couldn’t help noticing, however, that there was another car and two more officers waiting further down the drive.

“She’s, uh—”

“I’m right here.” When she turned around, she saw her mother descending the stairs in an outfit she called her ‘casual best’. Thea had already told her Roy had never had much money. “Can I help you with something, officers?”

Thea watched as Lance gave a shake of his head. “Let’s not drag this out in front of your daughter, alright? You’re coming downtown with us.”

“Wait, what?” Thea asked, only to be forced back as both Lance and Hilton pushed their way through the door, Hilton taking out a pair of handcuffs.

“You must be very mistaken,” her mother said gravely, though Thea couldn’t help noticing how very pale she looked.

“Not unless the thing we found them building at Unidac was actually a piñata,” Lance quipped. “Moira Queen, you’re under arrest for kidnapping, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, hiring an assassin, and conspiracy to commit mass murder. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“Murder?” Thea echoed, somehow both hoarse and shrill at the same time. “No, no that’s crazy.”

“Miss Queen, if you could stay back,” Detective Hilton requested, gently buffeting her aside when she tried to move towards her mother, who had frozen in shock and only started moving when Lance marched her along with one hand under her arm.

“Mom!”

“Stay- stay in the house, baby,” her mother called over her shoulder.

Thea followed them out to the front stoop, her hands pressing to either side of her head as she watched them put her unresisting mother into the back of a squad car and drive away. The other two officers came inside and went up the steps, heading in the direction of her mother’s office.

How could this be happening again? Was she going insane with her life just repeating itself in circles? Her dad dying, Walter dying; Oliver being arrested for murder, her mother being arrested for murder. And how did that make any sense?

What was she supposed to do? Did she call Jean? Ollie? Thea sunk down onto the front step, her knees to her chest as cries were choked out of her.

How could everything have changed so fast and so horribly?

[viria]

Hey viria! I'm an artist interested in starting taking commissions. however, I have no clue of what to actually *do* and i was hoping you could give me some advice... like, should i write up a contract? should i post the drawings i make? if i do, should i use huge watermarks? where's the best place to handle all the messages? should i send sketches to the commissioner? should i charge before or after giving the piece? i'd appreciate it a LOT if you could give me some tips :) thanks a lot!!

Hello! 

You can always state your commissions status somewhere on your page, as well as making a dedicated post on how your pricing works, attaching the examples for waist up, full body, colour/sketch, etc etc! 

Writing up a contract is really all up to you! It’s probably the safest way to do it. Or you could make up an invoice, or something. I haven’t yet needed such a precautions, and I feel like if I ever do get scammed I can always out the scammer publically for other artists to be aware of them, so far so good though!

Then, about posting the drawings - you should discuss it with each commissioner individually. Some people might commission personal works and wouldn’t want them to be posted, some just want the commission to be all up for themselves because they do pay money for it to be made, some don’t mind you posting the commission at all and would actually prefer their commission to be shown. There are commissioners who post the commission you made on their page, crediting you, it’s like a feedback! There are many ways to do it and you should always ask your commissioner first, and be understanding with whatever their decision is.

Personally, I don’t use huge watermarks. I use my standard in the corner one. But that’s all up to you! I feel like for a commissioner it would be the best to receive a signed commission, but without a huge watermark on it. Like, if you decide to go with a huge watermark over your work if you post it, you might want to do a smaller one for a commissioner, a special version fo them. But, that’s all up to you!

For me the best place to handle the commissions is twitter for now, since it’s quite organized and I can find all the info I need in there. But I always use my sketchbook to control the @ of my commissioners. I have the list of my current row in order I should be doing it, and special markings on commission status. I usually do sketches for everyone in the row, and once the sketches are done I finish, just so people don’t wait too much without knowing how it’s going.

You can always go for email as a place to handle it, it’s quite organized too! But I would advice to still have this sketchbook or notepud just for commissions so you don’t lose something in the asbox. I wouldn’t advice tumblr for discussing the commission though, since messages here often either don’t get delivered at all, or get lost. (you can work through tumblr, but communicate through email for example).

I do think you should always send a sketch to your commissioner! Both because fixing a sketch is way easier than fixing a finished artwork, and because this way your commissioner isn’t left in the dark on what to expect of you. Sometimes they can ask for changes of expression, some changes in pose or features, so I think sending a sketch is totally necessary! I know some artists set a standard number of changes allowed, and then once that number is surpassed they charge some extra. I had only one case of a big number of changes, that did require a bit of extra payment, but other than that I work around it just fine:3

Also I can advice to not take any of the changes you can be asked to make too personally! Usually it’s not because the artwork is bad, but because it’s quite hard to read someone’s thought on what they envision in their mind.

Therefore I always ask for detailed descriptions of the characters, both their personalilty and appearance, if there are a couple of them I need to know how they interract, general quirks of each of them, some people have quite a clear image on the pose, some only have the vibe (like I just want them to be happy! Or to cuddle!) etc, so I always ask for all of this:3

I work with prepayment, I take half of the price before I start a sketch, and another half once I am done with the piece. But, also keep in mind to never send a high resolution of the piece before you get paid fully. Many people don’t even think about scamming you, but there can potentially be someone who will try,so that’s an extra step of precaution. I always send a photo of the artworks in an angle, like from the side or from above, just so it’s seen that the piece is done, and that’s when I require the second part of the payment. 

I also always ask if there are any changes to the final piece, (though minor ones at this stage, I wouldn’t re-draw the piece completely after it was approved..at least not for free). The commissioner can not notice something through a bad angle and lighting, so I always give a chance to fix it after the second part of the payment is made and they can see a high resolution version. Don’t just get lost if someone asks you for a change if they already paid you.

I always send a high resolution file through the email after the second part of the payment was made.

Always be polite and nice, and listen to your commissioners! (as long as they don’t “ride” on you), which is very very rare. It’s a common courtesy, but I always thank everyone who commissions me, too:3

Phew, I think that’s pretty much it! Hope you can find it helpful

[wannastayugly]

ART COMMISSION INFO

STATUS: OPEN

COMMISSIONS FOR PERSONAL/PRIVATE USE

Except on specific occasions, which will always be addressed here when available, I do not have a fixed prices tab for commissions. Things such as the complexity of the elements that must be painted, demand of work, type of composition, number of characters, background, style of lighting and coloring will influence the prices. Everything must be discussed directly with each client, so artist and commissioner can figure out together what are the best options in each situation.

IMPORTANT NOTES           

-         To commission NSFW art, you must be of legal age;

-          I always ask for at least two weeks to finish a painting, but it can take a little longer depending on my work demand and the complexity of the piece.  If a client is in a hurry, it’s important to address to this issue before anything so they can be informed of how much time it’ll take for them to get the finished piece as soon as possible;

-          It’s important to provide image references for the character’s pose if it’s too specific, and also for the clothing and extra elements, specially if it’s an OC or based on the commissioner’s own version of an already existent fictional character;

-          All drawings will include a subtle signature that may not be removed;

-          The amount paid gives the client the right to receive one first simple sketch based on their previous described idea for the painting. If it doesn’t fit their desire, the client can ask for small adjustments. This will only be done twice. After the third modified sketch, I’ll charge a fee for what will be considered extra alterations. A fee will also be added if the commissioner wants an alteration on the final painting - unless, of course, a misunderstanding from my side has been made;

-          In the moment the first half of the payment is sent, the commissioner is agreeing with all the terms and conditions written on this page and confirms they’re enable to consume the commissioned content.

WHAT I AM WILLING TO PAINT AND BASIC FILE INFORMATION

-          I will draw almost everything, including NSFW (this one, as long as it’s based on fictional, adult, human characters). Yet, I will not draw sexist compositions, violence or any kind of abusive situation. I always reserve the right to refuse a request if I’m not comfortable filling it.

-          The final piece is sent via e-mail as a 300 DPI, RGB, PNG file, sized at least at 1200x1200px. If desirable, the client can also receive a CMYK JPG file with no additional fees.

COPYRIGHT / USAGE POLICY

-          I, Márcia Monteiro, claim the rights to the produced drawing, not the buyer. This gives me the right to, but not only: promote myself with the artwork, publish artbooks with it, sell prints and post it everywhere I’d like;

-          The commissioner is allowed to: print the art for personal use or to give it as a gift to loved ones, cut the image to use it as a profile pic, background or headliner on social media, share it online on forums and blogs;

-          The commissioner must not: paint over the art or add anything on it. Texts, color filters and collages are not allowed. Any edition that may mischaracterize the original piece must be done only by me or with my previous consent. Also, at no circumstance use the image for any kind of profit, such as selling it printed on mugs, shirts or any kind of product. The art must never be resold.

PAYMENT AND REFUNDS

-          The payment is done via PayPal. Half of it must be sent before I start working and half when the drawing is finished and approved by the client. I don’t offer refunds, unless I cannot fulfill the deadline that has been agreed with the client. You can be one hundred percent sure I’ll do everything to delivery the best work I can, always.

You can find examples of my previous paintings here on this blog and on my professional Instagram.

If still having any doubts, please feel free to contact me via direct message or send me an e-mail and I’ll happily clarify them.

mar.monteiro93@gmail.com

[maddiicake]

- STATUS [OPEN] -

    - For the FULL Price Table, Content Rules and Guidelines, Terms of Service, Blank Commission Form Guideline, and Contact Information, Click This link here.

~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~

**Before I begin, I just want to make one thing clear**

Because of the virus, I am well aware of that many people have been laid off from their jobs (if not, had their work hours cut), so they aren’t able to make as much income to support themselves. If you are one of these people… Please–please, please, please, PLEASE–Do not put yourself in financial jeopardy because you want to commission me. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the support, I truly do. However, I would absolutely hate to know that you’re struggling to stay afloat monetary-wise while wanting to commission me.

In other words: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST!

~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~

♥ General Info and Guidelines

Name: Your real name, URL/Username, or whatever you would like to be addressed as online. (Anonymous is also acceptable).

Username and Social Media Account(s): Any additional social media accounts (more than the main one you are requesting a commission from) is optional. Though, it would be cool to know any other forms of Social Media you have so that I can tag/credit/mention you accordingly if I post to a site you have an account on. (Again, additional social media accounts are entirely up to you).

Email that will be Charged for the Invoice: The email that is linked to your PayPal account to where I will send the invoice.

Type of Commission: List every one of the Categorized elements on the pricing table that you want to pay for. To keep things simple and organized for, you could use the format that lists as follows: “Series Style, Number of Characters, Type of Commission (bust, half-body, full-body, etc.), and the type of Background.”

References(s): If you have anything visual, send all/any links you may have. Only links that are for storage purposes will be accepted (i.e. Sta.sh, Dropbox, ToyHouse, etc.). The references themselves can be anything and everything (i.e. Character cards, other art of your characters, bios, outfits, hairdos, etc.). If you don’t have a visual reference, a detailed description would be greatly helpful and appreciated. It’s just helpful for me to see what you have in mind instead of guessing and/or trying to read your mind.

General Description of Your Commission: In the best way that you can, let me know what you have in mind for how you envision your setting. If your commissioning a detailed-background piece, be sure to give me the exact and precise details of the setting/room/etc. This way, it will be easier for me to assess the concepts of your idea and whether or not it’s doable for me to work with. As stated in the ToS, I would rather not be given “creative liberty” over anything, since it takes more time out of my schedule to figure something out for you.

Additional/Misc. Info: Anything additional details you’d like, or whether you’d like to remain anonymous. Also, this section is where you would mention if this is a gift and/or you have a specific deadline (i.e. Birthday, Anniversary, etc.). Anything that you don’t want in your commission, or isn’t in any of the listed categories, will go here.

CONTACT URLs:

https://www.deviantart.com/sakura-araragi (NOTES)

madsakarpay@gmail.com

♦ 100% Payment must be made before I start working on your Commission. This is not negotiable.

♦ No refunds. If you took time out of your day to think over what you’d like to commission me and made that decision consciously, then you also are aware and took into consideration the process in which it takes for me to create just one piece of art (time, scheduling, quality etc.).

♦ I will sell art to those under the age of 18 (No younger than 13, however). Buying art from me while under the age of 18, this implies that you have a PayPal/Credit or Debit Card or are authorized to use someone else’s. And, by commissioning me, you have full authorization of the PayPal/Card owner to purchasing art from me.

♦ My prices are set-in-stone and not negotiable. If my prices don’t suit your budget, there are plenty of other artists out there who may be.

♦ I accept PayPal/Credit Card only.

♦ One slot = 1 Picture; Each Commissioner is allowed 3 Slots Maximum.

♦ References Provided MUST remain available during the process of your Commission

♦  I will make up to 2 sketches to check with the commissioner to make sure everything is exactly how they’d like it. Unless the details and specifications for the Commission are clear and coherent enough for me to understand. However, keep in mind that sending the sketches and awaiting a response before continuing will cut into the time that I spend working on yours as well as backing up the log for other’s waiting commissions.

♦ Do NOT rush me. I tend to take my time when it comes to what I draw—I’m a rather slow artist, and, when it comes to commissions, my perfectionist side gets the better of me at times because I want to make sure that the end result is of good quality. That being said, I will be unable to give you a deadline of when your commission will be completed. Other than that, please consider my workload as well as your spot on in the Commission Slots. Good things come to those who wait~!

~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ☆ ☆ ☆ ~

  - For a Full View of any of my Art Works, check out My Art Tag.

  - For any Previous Commissions created by my, check out the tag: “My Finished Commissions”

[poke-chann-draws]

Commissions [editted]

💕Date of editting: August 10, 2020💕

I’m finally redoing my commission sheet with updated art! And I do now have a paypal so all money goes directly to me.

Here’s examples of my art:

Here are my current prices!

💕Sketches💕

Headshots $4

Halfbodies $7

Fullbodies $12

💕FlatColor💕

Headshots $10

Halfbodies $15

Fullbodies $20

💕Shaded💕

Headshots $15

Halfbodies $20

Fullbodies $30

❓I want a commission, but I can’t afford any of this.. what can I do?

I’m open to bending the prices on small commissions, especially simple ones, or ones that sound fun to draw! Please DM me and we can work something out! Discounts can also be applied to anything like public icons which credit me in the description. Unfortunately however I can’t promise anything.

❓Are tips allowed? Are they expected?

Tips are absolutely never expected, and the majority of people don’t give out tips. Tips are allowed, and I’m always super grateful for them but please don’t offer tips unless you yourself are in a good financial situation!!

❓When do I pay? Before or after the commission?

The best way that works for me is to be paid half first and half at the end, as it gives me the motivation to work faster and the security that I’ll at least get some money from it, but I can also take all upfront or all after (in the case of after, however, you would not get the completed image until payments been confirmed.

❓What if I don’t like my commission? Can I get a refund?

Commissioners can ask me to send progress reports during my drawing process, so they can point out anything they don’t like and I can fix it quickly. If something major somehow slips through the cracks, or the commission starts taking too long, I can offer a refund, but it would have to be something I could’ve prevented.

If you have no interest in my art or can’t afford it right now, it’d be amazing if you could reblog this post so it can reach someone who can. Thanks! ❤️

[zoe-oneesama]

Hi Zoe, I hope I'm not bothering you! I have a question and I had really no idea who to ask, but you are an amazing artist and I was hoping you could help me out. I'm about to open my commissions for the first time and I have NO IDEA how to go with it... I have no idea how to price my work, how to make a sheet or how to promote myself (I don't have that many followers so I was unsure which sites to use) and I'm also fairly young so I'm a bit scared of being tricked. How did you do it?

Hey, no bother at all! I’m not super experienced, but this is how I went about it:

First - Decide what you’re going to offer. Are you going to divide up the cost by how much of a character is shown? Bust/½ Body/ Full? Are you going to divide it by how much detail involved? Do you offer Chibis vs realism? Figure out how you’re going to sell your art. And if backgrounds or additional characters take you more time, make sure to put a price on adding those elements.

Second - Look at other artist’s commissions pages. This can help you figure out what’s the clearest way to get your information out (the layout makes it clear what people are getting and for what price) and it can help you make your page unique by seeing the differences between how different artists do their layout. AND it can help you get an idea for how much is reasonable to charge someone.

Third - Establish your rules. Make it clear what you’re willing to take on and what you’re not. For example, I absolutely will take on OCs! But I refuse to do NSFW. 

For your layout, make sure you have examples. People want an idea of what they’re going to get but may not always be familiar with your work. This gives them a cheat sheet to see quickly what they can expect. 

Now, the actual Commission process can differ from person to person, but this is what I do: 

    First, you get a message from a Buyer explaining what they want (size, character, amount of detail). For any commission detail above sketch, I will do a rough sketch of what is asked to get the pose and expression down. 

   Once the Buyer has approved of the pose/face/sketch, I will send an invoice through Paypal. All commission work will stop until I am fully paid. 

    When the commission is paid for, then I move onto digital work, giving updates to make sure the Buyer likes the linework/color direction. 

    Upon completion, I send them the finished image and finish out the transaction on Paypal.

(The exception is a Sketch which will require upfront payment)

You don’t have to use this method, but I personally feel this is most fair to both parties: I don’t waste time on artwork without getting paid and the Buyer doesn’t spend money on something they don’t know whether or not I’m working on.

ONE MORE thing. Prices can vary a lot between commissioners and can get a little confusing. My sketches are cheaper than most but my digital artwork can be a little more. This is because it’s very simple for me to do a sketch but digital work takes me a lot more time and effort. So when assigning prices, think about what takes more time and more focus for you. Remember, when you’re taking the time to do artwork for someone else, that’s time you’re NOT spending on doing something else (working, hobbies, sleeping, etc). Your time is WORTH something so try to price yourself fairly. 

GETTING THE WORD OUT is another thing I struggle with a bit. A huge help is when fellow artists signal boost for you, but it helps to expand outside of just one website. My sister takes commissions but found she gets a lot more traffic on instagram than on tumblr. I am the opposite. So try lots of avenues and don’t be afraid to ask for a signal boost on your commission page. 

Best of luck to you and I hope this was a little helpful! If anyone has any additional advice, please add onto this post!